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FORMULA 1 : NICO ROSBERG WINS ITALIAN GRAND PRIX; BATTLES LEWIS HAMILTON FOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP !

Formula 1 Star Nico Rosberg has won the Italian Grand Prix, thanks to a bad start by his fiercest and closest rival, Lewis Hamilton. Rosberg now narrows the gap with Hamilton - just two points behind - for the World Championship leader standings.

"A very special day for me", declares Rosberg as he wins his first Italian Grand Prix, ever.

Hamilton, seen by many to be the likely winner of the Italian GP, acknowledged his fault for the terrible start. Rosberg was quick to capitalize and snatched the win.

"It was all down to the start," said Rosberg. "I had an awesome start and that made the win", he added.

Rosberg, triumphant before a jubilant crowd, crowd-surfs a la rock star after his victory - his 21st overall, his 7th this year.

Now with 248 World Championship points, he is just two points behind Hamilton's 250. Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo third at 161, followed by Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen at 143 and 136, respectively.

FORMULA 1 World Standings:

1. LEWIS HAMILTON - Mercedes - 250 Points

2. NICO ROSBERG - Mercedes - 248 Points

3. DANIEL RICCIARDO - Red Bull - 161 Points

4. SEBASTIAN VETTEL - Ferrari - 143 Points

5. KIMI RAIKKONEN - Ferrari - 136 Points

6. MAX VERSTAPPEN - Red Bull - 121 Points

7. VALTTERI BOTTAS - Williams - 70 Points

8. SERGIO PEREZ - Force India - 62 Points

9. NICO HULKENBERG - Force India - 46 Points

10. FELIPE MASSA - Williams - 41 Points

🍾 That winning feeling 🍾 Congrats @nico_rosberg on your 21st win 👏 #ItalianGP 🇮🇹 #F1 pic.twitter.com/24t92VbxmG
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 4, 2016

ROS: "A very special day for me - you guys (fans) were unbelievable" #ItalianGP 🇮🇹 #F1 pic.twitter.com/vbP9nSTIlw
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 4, 2016

Thank you very much for the great atmosphere!!! #gracie #selfie #Podium 💪🏻💪🏻🇮🇹🇮🇹🏆🏆 @MercedesAMGF1 @ScuderiaFerrari pic.twitter.com/8UWwJZ8yFl
— Nico Rosberg (@nico_rosberg) September 4, 2016

grazie! siete i migliori! 👏🏻🏆🇮🇹 Un'emozione bellissima cantare insieme a voi. #pooopopopopo Photo: @f1 Danke! Ihr seid Weltklasse! Es war super, mit euch zu singen. #pooopopopopo Thank you very much! You are amazing! It was great to sing with you. #pooopopopopo
A photo posted by NICO ROSBERG (@nicorosberg) on Sep 4, 2016 at 2:07pm PDT

#BOOM #WIN #RACE #ItalianGP #F1 #TeamNR6 @mercedesamgf1 🇮🇹🇮🇹
A photo posted by NICO ROSBERG (@nicorosberg) on Sep 4, 2016 at 6:43am PDT

Don't drop him... @nicorosberg is now TWO points behind @lewishamilton in the championship after his #ItalianGP win #F1 #Formula1 #Rosberg #Monza
A photo posted by FORMULA 1® (@f1) on Sep 4, 2016 at 6:48am PDT